Our 32 Express turning 2600-2800, Dyna Jet 14x10's, 318's, 1:1's does around 18 sometimes a little faster, sometimes a little slower depending on wind, load, etc. Never really checked the fuel consumption, if I had to guess I'd say about a mile per gallon. If you backed that down to the low 2000's would imagine you could increase you mileage significantly. Once you reach a point you can double your fuel consumption for a couple MPH.

So it sounds like faster or slower 1 MPG is a good ball park guesstimation. The Willard trawler I was looking at was 30' with a 50 hp diesel and at cruise, 7 knots, burned 3/4 gallon an hour but topped at 10 knots which is about 11 1/2 miles per hour. A little slow to get out of the way if I needed to. The draft on the Trawler was deeper which concerns me also. I think I'll be making the right choice with the M. I've been studying up on various boats for over a year and the M constantly comes up as the one that has the best attributes for what I want to do. Any other tidbits anyone wants to share would be greatly appreciated. Looks like you and I aren't far apart Tuggle. I'm in the Dallas/Douglasville area.

Be careful comparing trawlers to Marinettes. That is like apples to marshmallows. Completely different hull designs and purposes. A trawler will have a displacement or semi-displacement hull that will be very fuel efficient close to its rated hull speed with a lower power engine. Marinettes are considered planing hulls which puts them in a whole different catagory. They can be comparably efficient at low speed, but when you push the hulls up past 8-10 mph, but before they get on plane, they use substantially more fuel. Once on plane, the fuel use to speed ratio gets better. I find my '72 express bridge has the best fuel/speed ratio at 2,900-3,200rpm and 22-24 mph.

Yes, the trawler I was considering had a full displacement hull which is why it only required 50 HP and topped at 10 knots and cruised at 7 knots. For my Loop trip, I plan on cruising near that speed for the most part but want the ability to kick it up a notch if necessary which is where the planing hull and extra ponies of the M comes into play. The difference in MPG is just slightly more than the Willard but that's a price I'm willing to pay for a little extra performance and speed if needed. Also, the twin engines provides a bit of redundancy which should give me a little more peace of mind on the trip. The M's draft is not as deep as the trawler which should make it easier getting into places to anchor and sleep for the night. The beam on the M is also wider and with a 6 month trip, the admiral and I may need our space at times. I really do appreciate all the responses so far.

Below are some stats from our trip Summer of 2017. I am looking for our stats from this past Summer (2018) when we traveled 1600 miles on Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake, Cumberland River, Tennessee River, and The TennTom. Stats as far as about 1.2 mpg were similar though I believe. We probably averaged about 12-14 mph at approx. 2800 rpm. I will post some exact stats from last Summers trip when I get home and to those. Stats from 2017:Thought that we'd share with our Marinette friends some of the stats from our trip over the last 21 days from our home on the Muskingum River to Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. We traveled 965 miles averaging 1.2 mpg. Used 802 gallons of fuel ($2785 or 3.47 per gallon av). Spent $465 in marina fees (13 nights +2 paid pump outs). $331.33 in parts and repairs (replaced a couple belts, replaced starboard engine ballast resistor and starter solenoid). Overall, a wonderful 3 week vacation for $3580. We had a great time and made many new friends along our path!

Aquaholic wrote:Below are some stats from our trip Summer of 2017. I am looking for our stats from this past Summer (2018) when we traveled 1600 miles on Lake Barkley, Kentucky Lake, Cumberland River, Tennessee River, and The TennTom. Stats as far as about 1.2 mpg were similar though I believe. We probably averaged about 12-14 mph at approx. 2800 rpm. I will post some exact stats from last Summers trip when I get home and to those. Stats from 2017:Thought that we'd share with our Marinette friends some of the stats from our trip over the last 21 days from our home on the Muskingum River to Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. We traveled 965 miles averaging 1.2 mpg. Used 802 gallons of fuel ($2785 or 3.47 per gallon av). Spent $465 in marina fees (13 nights +2 paid pump outs). $331.33 in parts and repairs (replaced a couple belts, replaced starboard engine ballast resistor and starter solenoid). Overall, a wonderful 3 week vacation for $3580. We had a great time and made many new friends along our path!

I see you have 2 boats. Was the trip done in the 32'? Thanks for this info, it will help guesstimating or my trip.

Not to knock Marinette's best selling model, the 32' FB, if you haven't made a decision yet, don't rule out a 37' FB. There aren't as many of them out there, as most of them you will see in the 37', 39' and 41' are double cabin, but there were a few 37 and 39 open cockpits (mine is a 37' FB). The beam is two feet wider, the salon is quite roomy and the overall feeling is less confined, great if you are living aboard for weeks at a time. Most were equipped with big block engines, which of course LOVE gas, but some, like mine, came with small block Chryslers. Mine is a 1975, came with dual fuel tanks and although I never track my fuel usage, I am always surprised by the little amount of fuel it uses for such a big boat. If you're still on the search, go to SearchTempest.com and type in Marinette and it will show all craigslist and ebay M's for sale. I can tell you from experience that I fell in love with mine from day one and talking with fellow M captains, they all say the same. Many have owned, or STILL own more than one Marinette !

Now that I am home from my 'work' trip in the Florida Keys I have our notes/stats in front of me from our cruising this past Summer. I thought I had shared these previously, but i cannot find where we did.

June 8th - July 9th 2018 we cruised starting from Green Turtle Bay (Lake Barkley, KY). We went up the Cumberland River Nashville and above to Old Hickory Lake. We then came back down the Cumberland and went up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga and beyond up to Lake Tellico. We then came back down the Tennessee to the Tenn Tom Waterway down to Dempolis Alabama where we are currently in storage and staged for 2019's adventures. We used Navionics for navigation/charts/channel depths etc. Theoretically, it should have tracked our average MPH....But, unfortunately there were many times when we forgot to turn it off etc so the calculation would not be accurate. We are all over the place on how we cruise....sometimes at 3200 rpm/20 mph.....sometimes at 2000 rpm/10 mph. If i had to guess, I would say that our average was maybe 15 mph @ 2800 rpm. Much more of last years trip was 'upriver' than was the trip in 2017 which is what i would attribute the slightly lower MPG stat.

Stats: 1655.1 - miles traveled1454.2 - gallons of fuel consumed (averaged $3.63 per gallon)1.138 - miles per gallon average